Another year has gone and past, which, for many of us fans, means that we will be comfortably spending the holidays with loved ones. And as amazingly pleasant as that would sound, it might also not hurt to wish our favorite bands just as much of an awesome and warm time for the remaining days of 2013. Hopefully, SHINee will be able to take a break between the year transition from 2013 to 2014 as the boys have been working extra hard this year. Though the awards that they have swept one after another bring great gratification to the members, one of the best things that they could possibly have this year is even just a smidge of time off.

To prove the line of activities and schedules that the boys had to accomplish this year, here's a quick recap of their 2013!

They welcomed 2013 with open arms and ready for success when the 27th Golden Disk Awards took place on early January and SHINee was given the Popularity Award, which could really only be based on votes. It was also in January that one of my favorite SHINee photo shoots was released via High Cut. It would have been my favorite one had the rest of the members been there, but it's definitely in the top 5 as Minho (the sole SHINee member present) was joined by Sulli and Krystal. The High Cut photos feature the idols in black and white, looking nearly like siblings as they interact freely and organically.

The 22nd Seoul Music Awards also thought to include SHINee in their winners list as they gladly handed them the Bonsang, as well as the Mobile Popularity Award.

February was the beginning of the teaser releases for the Dream Girl era, as Key's photos was the initial update on the comeback set for February 19. The first time the concept of Dream Girl was ever released was through Key's dream-like picture filled with soft hues. And this was probably the first time that Key paired his innocent look with the most adorable freckles. Soon after, the other teaser photos followed suit. During the month of February, little tastes of the album and their new music video was dispersed here and there. After the photos, there were also medleys released of the album, and some hints gladly provided by the boys themselves. In no time, the music video hit and earned an impressive amount of views and attention, like always. The album "The Misconceptions Of You" had been their latest release after their 11 month gap from Sherlock. The boys were even already doing special promotions here and there for LOEN and Music Spoiler where they sang some of the tracks live, even before their album was to hit stores. And though they completed an 11 month absence since their Korean release, in the same month of February, SHINee was back on screen for their Japanese single "Fire", being marked as their sixth Japanese single in total.

For the kick off of the promotions for Dream Girl, the first stop for SHINee was a performance on M!Coundown. They also added the song Beautiful to their comeback stage, another extra tease for the fans who have waited patiently for their return. Along with their Japanese single being released in line with promotions for Dream Girl taking course, they also participated in a reality TV show that lasted 12 episodes called "SHINee's Wonderful Day". MBC helped produce the reality TV show that centered around the members of SHINee being able to choose where in the world they would like to spend a week in, also allowing them to power to dictate their schedules for the entirety of the trip. With the hustle and bustle of their recent schedule, SHINee jumped at the chance and quickly did whatever they needed to before boarding the plane from Korea to wherever else.

Still during February, SHINee was asked to be the new models of Sketchers, landing the boys another photo shoot and line of videos to release with the company.

March marks the first win that SHINee takes home for Dream Girl. M!Countdown had SHINee perform their hit track for the weekly show, and in just 9 days since being on the show to do exactly that for the first time, SHINee finally gets a win. And they even joined the exclusive list of 100,000+ sold albums since The Misconceptions of You Sold over 137,000 by the end of February since its release on the 19th. And from M!Countdown, the wins just kept coming. SHINee also took home the award on Music Bank for Dream Girl during the same week. And in the following week, SHINee is once again a winner on M!Countdown with the Triple Crown Award. It is also during March that the full PV for Fire was released.Quickly followed by another win on KBS Music Bank for the second week in a row. Though Inkigayo had slipped by them during their second week, it finally gave in during the third as SHINee took home the win on March 17, 2013 from the music show, giving them a total of 9 trophies in less than a week of Dream Girl's release.

But with their ups also comes their downs as Onew, leader of SHINee, was caught in the center of many fired up fans for giving the finger on live national television. It was on Younha's Starry Night (the March 18 broadcast) that SHINee's leader was caught on camera flipping someone off. Though it seemed rather harmless, the fans were not very happy with the display. It didn't pacify the fans that Onew had allegendly been dating After School's Jungah for a year, nor did they calm down when a photo of the idol smoking an electric cigarette circulated quickly online.There was also news of Jonghyun being in a car accident within the year, one of the more worrisome events to have transpired. The idol had to recover quickly so that he could return to performing beside his member's sides, but because of the accident, he was barely there for their second set of promotions for Why So Serious.

But through the private lives of the members easily being exploited online, the issues fizzled eventually as the episodes for their reality TV show proceeded and the SHINee World was set back in motion. The Misconceptions Of Me, another version of their album, was released with the title track "Why So Serious". The remaining four members of the band, who wished Jonghyun well as many times as they could, in their own special way, made sure to perform well on behalf of his absence. And this was also the time where there was buzz about Taemin possibly joining the We Got Married Cast with Apink's Son Naeun, giving birth to Taeun no more than weeks later.

Music Core welcomed SHINee for a comeback stage on April for their Why So Serious promotions. Their Album, The Misconceptions of Me, was highlu popular in overseas charts such as Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Through this time, many of the fans were seriously missing Jonghyun as he had been absent for the majority of the promotions for Why So Serious. And there was also a lot of talk being made, both good and bad, about Taemin being on We Got Married with Son Naeun. The internet writers were vicious towards her, and this was one of the reasons why Taemin was upset since they could no longer go out without him making sure to look over his shoulder every once in a while.

Speaking of We Got Married, there was also a lot of talk about the show this year since it featured Taemin. Many of people tuned in and watched the couple's every move, and there were certain episodes that caused controversy within the media regarding careless words being thrown around here and there. The parties who needed to apologize did and the issue was immediately put to bed.

SHINee went on with the promotion for Why So Serious, and at the same time were keeping their Japanese fandom alive with "Breaking News". And of course, 2013 SHINee would not be complete without the brief mention of JongYu going from dark to super blonde without a moment's notice.

This was also the year where the members tried a hand at acting once again. They kept themselves busy with musicals (with kissing scenes this time, a clear step up), reality shows, interviews, and dramas. Minho was cast in a drama called Medical Top Team, of which the premise revolves around a group of medical specialists who are experts at what they do. Minho was given much support for his role and is now looking to branch out to other projects.Onew was also cast in a sitcome, finally being able to work his comedic side in order to please the fans. He was cast in the new sitcom called Welcome To the Noyal Villa, where he played a cynical character who was rather rude but still lovable. Beforehand, he guest starred in another sitcome where he playeda visiting relative who was much too sensitive and sulky. 

On May 25, the boys of SHINee get together to celebrate their 5th anniversary of being together as a band since they debuted. Throughout the year, the boys have been nothing but closer, and they also show how close they are with other idols outside of theirs. There was a lot of love between SHINee and EXO being displayed, which hopefully would calm many of the fans who think that it's a competition between the two bands. In terms of new releases, they also released a music video for the song "Green Rain."

It was during June tha their Japan Tour Arena began. The tour was announced to begin on the 28th of June and would last until the 11th of December, with additional days added for the 24th and 25th in Tokyo, which would overlap with the December 21st concert that they were planning for SM Town called "The Wizard", one of the many stages participating in the music festival.

And soon after than, SHINee is back to their Japanese promotions as they release the teaser for Boys Meet U on the 18th of July. The actual music video was released on August 21. The video was probably one of the the most different ways that they have ever been marketed. There were also claims to SHINee being turned into a typical, popular, boy band already known to be very successful for this style of music video and image.On August 8, the song Selene 6.23, which was composed by Jonghyun, quickly climbed many music charts.

And though you might have thought that this is already much too jam packed for one band to handle, SHINee announces that they are making another comeback in October with the track "Everybody" from their fifth mini album. During the beginning of October, the boys released individual photos. They were shown in black and white, sporting piercings and interesting make up, big hats, and the kind of style that you do not see everyday.

On October 6, even before the release of the music video and the album, the boys took to a public stage to showcase their song and perform "Everybody" for the first time ever. They even sat down for an interview as well as performed a few more songs off of the album. The Showcase was streamed live all over the world. And of the release of the music video on the 10th, and the mini album on the 12th, MBC Music Core was first to have them for their comeback stage. And on the 25th of the same month, Inkigayo granted them their first win for Everybody, followed by a win the next night on Music Core. But the victory was short lived as Onew suffered from a neck injury that luckily didn't hinder any of their promotions. Key was also in a conflicting spot as he was staring in one of his musicals are the time, "Bonnie & Clyde". One of the shows were even cancelled since Key was very much in a tough spot regarding his schedule.

December 4th marked the release of their Japanese album, 3, 2, 1, an upbeat single that was filled with pops of color, and definitely a break away from the usual SHINee music video that we are all so used to. And it was also during December 20 that they released a tack called Colorful as a thank you to the fans for their undying support from start to finish. The music video is a compilation of SHINee's 2013, and how they have developed throughout the year. Key also busied himself within this month for the showing of his next musical "The Three Musketeers", which will be showing until the 19th of February, 2014.

But with the year coming to a close, the award shows, beginning with the MelOn Music Awards, released the list of nominees for 2013, including SHINee. The group took home The Artist of The Year award as well as Top 10. The MAMA's also thought to include them in the awards as they granted SHINee The Best Dance Performance award. The MBC Entertainment Awards also awarded the group with The Popularity Award, and Taemin won The Star of the Year Award. During the SBS MTV Best of the Best, SHINee took home the Artist of the year Award. And it was during the 22nd Seoul Music Awards that SHINee closed their awards with The Bonsang Award and Mobile Popularity Award.  Apart from this, they were also performing for the first YouTube Music Awards in Seoul. The boys were busy throughout the year without question. They were working for awards, winning awards, and performing separately with their individual schedules. And they aren't even done yet, as their concert for the SM Town Music festival is still about to begin on the 21st of December. The boys have worked hard this year, and their drive and determination is unquestionable in this account. With all of the year coming to a close, we hope to see the boys again next year for another rollercoaster ride.

Special Thanks:  Shining Shawols (Thank you for feedback and input to make this article possible)